Illinois Budget 4.27.09

Monday

Apr 27, 2009 at 12:01 AM

Illinois Budget 4.27.09

Here are the top Illinois stories coming today from GateHouse News Service. Stories are available at www.gatehousenewsservice.com. Please check www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/news in the evening for changes to story lineup, including breaking news.

If your paper has a story, digest item, opinion piece or standalone photo to share, please e-mail it to Illinois@gatehousemedia.com.

PEORIA – Three months into his job as transportation secretary, Ray LaHood, a Republican, says he feels like he’s “a full partner” in the Obama administration. The former Congressman from Peoria is at the forefront of the administration's battle to turn around the American economy. By Karen McDonald of the Peoria Journal Star.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/features/x126914773

State Briefs. News from around the state.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x1092986303

New river refuges manager tackles wetland challenges

The Illinois River makes no allowances for good intentions. Lee Albright has seen that firsthand in his early weeks at the helm of the Illinois River National Wildlife and Fish Refuges, a complex that covers more than 12,000 acres and is spread over 125 miles. By Chris Young of the State Journal-Register.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x718272320

ILLINOIS BUSINESS
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois_business

Volunteering hones skills, gives chance to network

ROCKFORD – When Debbie Crozier was laid off in January from insurance company Williams-Manny, she didn’t wait long before joining the ranks of volunteers at the Rock River Valley Pantry. With the local unemployment rate at 13.5 percent in March, many local nonprofit groups are seeing a spike in the recently jobless coming through their doors to volunteer. Some, like Crozier, are there because they now have the time to donate. Others donate their professional skills to nonprofits to keep their skills honed, which also gives them something to put on an otherwise blank spot of their resumes. By Sean F. Driscoll of the Rockford Register Star.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/news/business/x1092985682

GM dealers say business remains strong

GALESBURG – Lee Wight of Wight Chevrolet in Williamsfield said despite restructuring announced Monday by General Motors, business is fine in rural areas of the Midwest. GM plans to cut 21,000 U.S. factory jobs by next year and phase out its Pontiac brand as part of a major restructuring to get more government aid. By John R. Pulliam of the Galesburg Register-Mail. To localize: Check with local GM dealers to see how business is holding up.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x303483777

There's still need for nurses, just not right now

ROCKFORD – Brenda Echeverria is graduating from nursing school next month, and she’s worried about finding a job. Despite a nationwide nursing shortage, hospitals are tightening their belts in a struggling economy. And with an increase in competition, Echeverria may have to consider taking a job in another nursing field while she waits for a spot at a hospital to open. But just when the economic slump meant fewer nursing jobs, local nursing schools, which increased their enrollment numbers to meet the burgeoning demand, are fielding even more inquiries from unemployed workers looking to nursing as a second career. By Melissa Westphal of the Rockford Register Star. To localize: Are nurses in your area having a hard time finding work?
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x50633432

Small businesses caught in trickle-down as big firms suffer

ROCKFORD – Chrysler, Hamilton Sundstrand and Woodward Governor employ hundreds of people, maintain huge facilities and pump millions of dollars into the local economy. They are, however, a rarity. More than half the businesses in Boone and Winnebago counties have fewer than five employees, and half the employees in the region get their paychecks from companies with fewer than 100 staffers. And while big companies get a lot of attention, economic experts say the health of small businesses in a community is just as vital. By Sean F. Driscoll of the Rockford Register Star. To localize: How are small businesses in your area dealing with the economic downturn?
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x297240870

Laid-off workers try to make ends meet

CARLINVILLE – Scott Thomas is one of the faces behind Macoupin County’s unemployment statistics. Thomas, of Staunton, was laid off when the Monterey Coal Co.’s mine near Carlinville closed in December 2007. He and other Monterey workers found new jobs after that. But many of them once again are unemployed due to a wave of layoffs across the state and country. By Debra Landis of the State Journal-Register.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x1092985679

SPRINGFIELD – Abraham Lincoln’s image is common throughout Springfield, but this week, three large sculptures pay homage to the 16th president with a twist — a reproduction made from canned foods. The displays at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library are part of a Canstruction food drive, which is a nationwide design and construction competition. Teams of architects, engineers and students compete to design structures entirely from full cans of food. By Rhys Saunders of the State Journal-Register.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x297240947

Models of Lincoln sites now downloadable

SPRINGFIELD – The opportunity to have a micro-version of a Lincoln site in your home, office or school will cost you only an afternoon, some printer ink and a few pieces of card stock paper. The Illinois Historic Preservation Agency is launching a program that will allow anyone to re-create three-dimensional Lincoln sites by printing cutouts and instructions from a Web site. Currently, six models are available. More will be added throughout the year. By Pete Sherman of the State Journal-Register.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x126914687

Pet smart: Program connects kids, dogs while promoting literacy

SPRINGFIELD – Three puppies brought by Animal Protective League volunteers one Monday afternoon to Pleasant Hill Elementary School settle in for an hour of being read to in the school’s literacy lounge. The puppies chosen for that day’s session of APL’s Sit Stay Read literacy program sit close as students in Jami Patterson’s fourth-grade class take turns reading to the dogs one-on-one in 10-minute intervals. The goal of Sit Stay Read is to help children forget their limitations as they interact with dogs by reading to them aloud. By Tamara Browning of the State Journal-Register. To localize: Are there programs like this in your community?
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/news/education/x1092984818

Nonprofit founder enlists help to rescue the nation’s waterways

SPRINGFIELD – Chad Pregracke is pumped. He’s pumped about how much people care about America’s lakes, rivers and streams. And he’s pumped about the potential of the students gathered to hear his speech at the University of Illinois at Springfield on Tuesday evening. Pregracke is the founder of Living Lands & Waters, a nonprofit group based in Moline, Ill., that is removing trash from the Mississippi River and its tributaries. By Chris Young of the State Journal-Register.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/news/environment/x297239406

Infant's recovery nothing short of a 'miracle'

CANTON – John and Jenni Markello know they’re the lucky ones. The Canton couple watch as their 8-month-old son, Parker, gets up on all fours in that “I’m ready to start crawling” position, and they know their little bundle of joy has come a long way since suffering a head trauma when he allegedly was shaken by a caretaker. By Lisa Coon of the Peoria Journal Star.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x50633536

BRITT: Toon on controversy at UIS over coaches being fired.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x126915286

Jeff Vrabel: Giving the Cubs another second chance

Earlier this week, after much deliberation, hours of debate, many nights of sleepless soul-searching, a couple dozen quarts of beer, one vision quest in the woods, a trip to a Tibetan monastery, three conversations with Batman, and one lengthy sentence with a multitude of commas, I once again became a Cubs fan.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/opinions/x297240127

Editorial: May the truth set us free on torture debate

Sometimes Americans seem to look at torture with all the detachment of watching an episode of TV's "24," rooting from their recliners for Jack Bauer to come to the rescue against the bad guys who are as bad as bad can be. There's no place in prime time for doubt or moral confusion, which is exactly the way most of us like it. No disturbing the comfort zone. Unfortunately, real life is rarely so accommodating. An editorial from the Peoria Journal Star.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/opinions/editorials/x1092985621

Editorial: Have 9/11-style panel investigate torture

President Barack Obama was right to release the Bush administration memos authorizing the torture of suspected terrorists, but he has yet to lead the country to the right way to reckon with what was done. An editorial from the State Journal-Register.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/opinions/editorials/x1092985624

Editorial: Give bill rejecting state lawmakers' raises a vote

Never mind that Illinois is hemorrhaging red ink to the tune of more than $11 billion ... that statewide unemployment is at 9.1 percent, the highest level in 23 years ... that Illinois taxpayers are likely to get socked with an income tax increase to pay for years of mismanaged state finances ... that state services to those same taxpayers are practically guaranteed to be reduced. State lawmakers are still happy to sit idly by while their take-home pay grows. An editorial from the Peoria Journal Star.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x718272198

Editorial: Blagojevich needs honest reality, not the TV kind

Rod Blagojevich won't be taking his increasingly tired shtick on tour abroad, thanks to a ruling last week from the federal judge in his corruption trial. Prosecutors weren't convinced that sending a guy charged with 16 felonies out into the wild was the greatest idea. Right they were. An editorial from the Peoria Journal Star.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x50633378

WITH THE ILLINI: Justin Spring spent the weekend at the U.S. gymnastics team camp, where he formally retired. The Olympic medal winner is taking over as men's coach at Illinois. Lead to multi-sport notebook. By John Supinie.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/sports/college/x303484415